Physical Science Laboratory Momentum

Losing your marbles

Purpose
The purpose of this laboratory is to explore the concepts of momentum and conservation of momentum.
Questions
● What does momentum mean?

● What does conservation of momentum mean?

● Can we show that momentum is conserved in a simple system?

Introduction
Existing theory asserts that momentum is conserved. In the first part of this two-part laboratory you will explore
qualitatively the conservation of momentum. In the second part you will calculate the momentum before a
collision and the momentum after a collision of a marble and another marble. In the third part you will repeat part
two.
In physics:
● Momentum is the mass (grams) multiplied by the velocity (cm/s) [formula p=mv].
● Conservation means "stays the same." Usually this means, "the momentum after an event is the same as
the momentum before an event." For this lab the "event" is a collision between marbles.
Equipment
● marbles ● wood block or other support
● rulers ● tape
● stopwatch

Part One: Conservation of Marble Momentum: Rolling Marbles

In part one we explore a simple system. Five marbles sit touching each other on the flat portion of a marble track.
The marble track is made of two plastic rulers with grooves to guide the marbles. One or more marbles are
released from an elevated end of the track.

Procedure for part one & questions

1. Release one marble. How many marbles are ejected from the group? 1
2. Release two marbles. How many marbles are ejected from the group? 2
3. Repeat for three, four, five... marbles.
4. How is the number in related to the number out? INput = OUTput
5. Release one marble from half-way up the ramp. Is the inbound marble fast or slow? Is the ejected marble
fast or slow? INBOUND Slow EJECTED Slow
6. Send a marble in at high speed. Is the ejected marble fast or slow? Fast
7. How is the speed (velocity) in related to the speed (velocity) out? Equal

Part two introduction

In part two the event is a collision between two marbles. One marble at rest is hit by another marble rolling down
the ramp. The momentum of the one marble rolling down the ramp before the collision should be equal to the
sum of the momentums of the marbles after the collision.
The marble coming into the collision is called the "inbound" duck in this laboratory. To keep the marbles straight,
this lab will refer to the inbound marble as the blue marble and the marble that is sitting still on the track at the
start as the white marble. Your marbles may be different in color!

Equations for part 2

1. pbefore = pafter
2. m1v1 + m2v2 = m1v1'‘ + m2v2‘

In part two we measure all of the variables above and then plug the values into the equation #2. If the left side is
equal to the right side, momentum is conserved. If the left and right side are within 10% of each other, then the
agreement is good enough.

Procedure for Part 2

Overview
● Find the mass of two marbles on the digital balance and record them with correct units.
■ (m) “blue” marble 1 m1 3.58g
■ (m) “white” marble 2 m2 3.49g

● Remember, the “white” marble is sitting still on the track with a velocity of zero centimeters per second.

Inbound marble speed measurement procedure

1. Roll the inbound blue marble down the track by itself, releasing the duck from 0.0 cm at the top of the
ramp track.
2. Measure the time for the blue duck to cover the 30.0 cm along the flat ruler. The two marbles below
show the distance over which the measure the time for the blue marble .

3. Repeat this five times to get the average time for the blue duck prior to being involved in the collision.

**Measure the speed on the flat section ONLY, since the marble is accelerating on the slope. We only want to
know the speed of the marble at the bottom of the slope. The speed at the bottom of the slope is the speed at
which the blue marble will collide with the white marble.

Time “blue” marble before collision (s)

.30

.41

.41
 .41

.48

4. Average time (t1) from table above: 0.402s

5. Use the average time & displacement to calculate velocity of the “blue” marble
[equation velocity = displacement ÷ time].
a. Velocityblue = 30÷.402
b. Velocityblue = 74.627cm/s

6. Calculate the momentum of the inbound blue marble below (p=mv)

mass (m1) blue marble (g) velocity (V1) blue momentum blue marble
marble (cm/s) (g cm/s)
(momentum = mass × velocity)

3.58g x 74.627cm/s 267.165

Outbound marble speeds measurement procedure

Now set up the marbles to collide.

Post-collision procedure
1. Place the blue m1 marble at 0.0 cm on the ramp track.
2. Place the white m2 marble on the flat track at 0.0 cm.
3. In the image above m1 is on the right, m2 is on the left.
4. Do a practice run of the collision. Both marbles will roll off the track.
5. Speed of the white m2 marble after collision: Rerun the collision timing the duration (time) for the white
marble to travel 30 cm. Repeat the collision four more times, measuring the duration for the white
marble to travel 30 cm to the end of the track. Record your data.
6. Speed of the blue m1 marble after collision: Rerun the collision timing the duration (time) for the BLUE
marble to travel 30 cm. Repeat the collision four more times, measuring the duration for the blue marble
to travel 30 cm to the end of the track.

**The above will require making five time measurements of the blue marble and five of the white marble. Use
these measurements to determine the average time for each. The next two tables provide a place to record data.
Time “blue” marble after collision(s)

2.38

2.71
 2.56

2.02

2.69

7. Distance inbound “blue” marble traveled: 30cm

8. Average time t2 from table above: 2.472
9. Calculate the velocity of the inbound “blue” marble [equation V = d ÷ t].
a. Velocityblue = 30cm ÷ 2.472s
b. Velocityblue = 12.136m/s

Time “white” marble after collision(s)

0.74

0.74

0.81

0.94

0.67

8. Distance ejected “white” marble traveled: 30cm

9. Average time t3 from table above: 0.78
10. Calculate the velocity of the ejected “white” marble [ equation: V = d ÷ t]:
a. Velocitywhite = 30cm ÷ 0.78s
b. Velocitywhite = 38.462m/s

11. Calculate the momentum of the inbound blue marble & the ejected white marble after the collision
(p=mv)
mass m1 blue marble velocity m1 blue marble after momentum m1 blue marble after
(g) (cm/s) (g cm/s)
(momentum = mass × velocity)

3.58 x 12.136 43.447

mass m2 white marble velocity m2 White marble after momentum m2 white marble after
(g) (cm/s) (g cm/s)
(momentum = mass × velocity)
 3.49 x 38.462 134.107

177.554
sum of the momentums after:

12. Is the momentum of the inbound m1 marble equal to the sum of the momentums of the blue and white
marbles after the collision? No

13. How close are the results? ~100 p difference

14. Use the percentage change formula to determine the change in momentum:

Record
Formula Show your Work Answer

177.554-267.165x100/267.165 -33.541
% Error = (sum of momentums after - momentum before) x 100
momentum before

Analysis
1. What did you find – was momentum conserved? Yes

2. What is the percentage gain or loss in momentum? 20% after contact

3. Where is the momentum coming from or going to– if anywhere? It is being transferred from one marble
to another.

4. Is your result within the 10% uncertainty? What are some sources of error that may have affected your
results? No - Gentle changes in height, human error.

5. Discuss what Conservation of Momentum means for you in real life after completing this lab.
If my car gets hit I will go a certain distance based off how big each car and how fast each car is.

*Adapted from https://www.comfsm.fm/~dleeling/physci/ps83/lab04.xhtml